The Helio Sequence - Love & Distance

I quote for you the words of Morrissey: "I am first and only a music lover." Those words fit me so well. I don't write about music to snub others talents or discourage artists; I write to speak my thoughts as a fan of music. I've listened to a variety of artists who offer merely a collection of songs. I rarely come across musicians who release a true album, songs that stream and blend together so that I have a whole experience to remember instead of just bits and pieces scattered along the way to pick through. Then one day a band or artist comes along that, after years of collected song releases, gives you a much needed experience...and it's truly magical. The Helio Sequence is such a band. With the release of their newest album, Love & Distance, the follow-up to 2001's Young Effectuals (Cavity Search), I feel that they have found the spark that will keep their flame alive. Love and Distance (SubPop) is an album with addictive lyrics and sounds that animate your life. "Harmonica Song" features amazing harmonica playing by singer Brandon Summers and guitars and drums by Benjamin Weikel (recent drummer for Modest Mouse) that bounce off the walls of your head. And you know how sometimes you find that the lyrics and music for some songs just don't play well together? Not here. "I wanna know/When we get to the end can we do it all again/Keep on/As far as the road goes I'll go the road" allows for every freedom movement any person young of mind wants to partake in. That seems to be the overall anthem for the "new" Weikel and Summers: a new embrace of freedom and the ability to explore and create as they please. "Repeater" proves this with the lyrics "Call it all intuition/Write it all off as lost/But I know and you know and we know there's an answer." "Don't Look Away" follows suit. Other tracks on the album tell the story as well, but one song that caught my ear was "S.O.S." Every word seemed so sincere, and every note played could not have fit any better. "Drinking coffee from my cup/I was feeling down now I'm looking up/Now cars will crash and babies cry/But when you look up we're seeing the same sky." Now, I'm a huge lover of reading lyrics as poetry and not just "words to a song," so imagine my joy when these words found my ears. The closing track, "Looks Good (But You Looked Away)" is the kicker, ending the album on soft, floating notes that gather your mind for a moment to daydream and the light, ever-present touch of chimes warms the air. Writing this review for you was so wonderful because the music allowed my mind to open its doors to thought...and that's not just hippie talk. Love & Distance is an experience I will never tire of having. [www.theheliosequence.com]